Location based network selection method for a mobile device

ABSTRACT

A method for connecting a mobile device with one of a plurality of wireless networks, involves initiating a registration of the mobile device with one of the plurality of wireless networks. A geographic position of the mobile device is determined with respect to at least one of the plurality of wireless networks. A connection is established to one of the plurality of wireless networks responsive to the determined geographic position of the mobile device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/788,327, filed Mar. 15, 2013, entitled LOCATION BASED NETWORKSELECTION METHOD FOR A MOBILE DEVICE, the specification of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety. This application is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/311,710,filed Dec. 6, 2011, entitled LOCATION-BASED NETWORK SELECTION METHOD FORA MOBILE DEVICE, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,903,380, issued on Dec. 2, 2014,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/862,444,filed on Aug. 24, 2010, entitled LOCATION-BASED NETWORK SELECTION METHODFOR A MOBILE DEVICE, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,073,441, issued on Dec. 6,2011.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the selection, provisioning and relatedcontrol of one or more networks for connection to one or more mobiledevices, and more particularly, to the selection of networks forconnection with a mobile device based upon a profile defining forexample the geographic location of the mobile device with respect to anetwork.

BACKGROUND

A mobile device such as a mobile telephone, pager, PDA, or any wirelessdevice has one or more home networks with which the mobile device willnormally connect. Within a home network, the mobile device is able toobtain services based upon a monthly fee structure with or without ause-based fee structure. When leaving any of their home networks, theuser loses the ability to make calls using their mobile device. In orderto overcome this problem, the network providers have entered intovarious roaming agreements. Roaming agreements enable a user from onenetwork to visit other networks and still obtain connectivity for theirmobile device even when they are located outside of their home network(i.e., roaming). In order to provide connectivity over large areas ofthe country, outside of a user's home network, home network providersoften have a number of roaming agreements with a variety of differentnetworks over the entire country. This requires the implementation of apreferred roaming list (PRL) within a given system, or similar type ofpriority list within other types of wireless systems, within the mobiledevice that provides the mobile device with a priority order forconnecting to various roaming partners of the home network provider.

When attempting to register with a network to provide connectivity tothe mobile device, the mobile device initially determines the signalstrength of all of the networks within the range of the mobile device.If the home network is providing sufficient signal strength, the mobiledevice will connect with the home network and provide calls andconnectivity through the home network. However, in a situation whereinthe home network is unable to provide sufficient signal strength to themobile device, the mobile device determines the roaming partner of thehome network to which the mobile device should connect. To do this, themobile device will examine the preferred roaming list and select theroaming partner having the highest priority on the preferred roaminglist that has sufficient signal strength for connecting with the mobiledevice.

One problem that may arise within a particular home network area is thatvarious roaming partners with which the home network has a roamingagreement may have their own networks overlapping the home network.Thus, if for any reason the home network includes poor coverage areas ortemporary decreases in signal quality, a situation may arise wherein themobile device may connect with a roaming partner's network even thoughthe mobile device is currently within its home network due to the poorsignal strength of the home network. This causes the home networkprovider or the mobile device user to incur roaming charges even thoughthe mobile device is located within its home network. Thus, it would bedesirable to provide some manner for limiting the access to roamingpartner networks when a mobile device is currently located within itshome network. This will save money to the network provider or the mobiledevice user by limiting unnecessary roaming charges.

SUMMARY

The present invention as disclosed and described herein, in one aspectthereof comprises a method for connecting a mobile device with one of aplurality of wireless networks, involves a mobile device initiating asystem selection process with one of the plurality of wireless networks.A geographic position of the mobile device is determined with respect toat least one of the plurality of wireless networks. A connection isestablished to one of the plurality of wireless networks responsive tothe determined geographic position of the mobile device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding, reference is now made to thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingDrawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the manner in which roaming partner networks mayoverlap a home network;

FIG. 2 illustrates a mobile device which may access a number ofassociated networks based upon a preferred roaming list;

FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which a mobile device may determine itslocation to determine which network to connect to between an overlappinghome network and roaming network;

FIG. 4a is a functional block diagram of a mobile device for selecting aconnecting network based upon a present location of the mobile devicewith respect to the geographic boundaries of its home network;

FIG. 4b is a functional block diagram of a network server for selectinga connecting network based upon a present location of the mobile devicewith respect to the geographic boundaries of its home network;

FIG. 4c is a functional block diagram of a third party server forselecting a connecting network based upon a present location of themobile device with respect to the geographic boundaries of its homenetwork;

FIG. 5 illustrates the manner in which a home network may periodicallyupdate a mobile device with various geographic boundary updates;

FIG. 6a is a flow diagram describing a device initiated method forperiodically updating the geographic boundary maps of a mobile device'shome network;

FIG. 6b is a flow diagram describing a network initiated method forperiodically updating the geographic boundary maps of a mobile device'shome network;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the manner for selecting aconnecting network for a mobile device based upon a location of themobile device;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a rule setfor encouraging connection of a mobile device to its home network ratherthan a roaming network based upon its location;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram describing an alternative embodiment for therule set for establishing a network connection with a mobile device;

FIG. 10a is a flow diagram illustrating an alternative method forselecting a connecting network for the mobile device wherein the mobiledevice is positioned based upon the cell site connected to the mobiledevice;

FIG. 10b is a flow diagram describing the manner in which a roamingmobile device periodically determines whether it is within a homenetwork;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating the manner for using mobiledevice location to determine a type of voice or data network forconnecting with a mobile device based upon its location;

FIG. 12a is a flow diagram illustrating yet a further method forutilizing a positioning of the mobile device to determine which roamingnetwork to access when a home network is not presently available;

FIG. 12b is a flow diagram illustrating yet a further method forutilizing a positioning of the mobile device to determine which homenetwork to access when multiple home networks are available;

FIG. 13 illustrates a situation when a mobile device is moving from aroaming network into its home network;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram the manner of operation of the mobile devicewhen it enters its home network from a roaming network;

FIG. 15a is a flow diagram describing the biasing of a connection of themobile device to its home network wherein the decisions are made on thenetwork rather than the mobile device side;

FIG. 15b illustrates a flow diagram describing the biasing of aconnection of the mobile device to its home network wherein thedecisions are made at a third party server connecting with the wirelessnetwork;

FIG. 16 illustrates a number of overlapping home and roaming networkswherein the home network includes a number of coverage holes therein;

FIG. 17a illustrates a number of rule sets associated with particularholes within in a home network stored within a mobile device;

FIG. 17b illustrates a number of rule sets associated with particularholes within a home network stored within the HLR of the mobile device;

FIG. 17c illustrates a number of rule sets associated with particularholes within a remote third party server associated with a wirelessnetwork;

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of a mobile devicehaving various rule sets associated with holes within its home network;and

FIG. 19 illustrates the manner in which a rule set can be implementedindividually within or across multiple components of a network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers are usedherein to designate like elements throughout, the various views andembodiments of location-based network selection method for a mobiledevice are illustrated and described, and other possible embodiments aredescribed. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in someinstances the drawings have been exaggerated and/or simplified in placesfor illustrative purposes only. One of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate the many possible applications and variations based on thefollowing examples of possible embodiments.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there isillustrated a home network 102 and a plurality of roaming networks 104.The home network 102 is the home operating area where a mobile device(mobile telephone, PDA, pager, or other wireless device) may accessnetwork services according to its standard charges. When exiting itshome network 102, the mobile device may be provided services within oneof the roaming networks 104. As can be seen within the illustration ofFIG. 1, the home network has three different roaming networks 104associated therewith. These networks comprise Roam 1, Roam 2 and Roam 3.Each of the roaming networks 104 includes a first portion that liesoutside of the home network 102 and a second portion that overlaps aportion of the home network 102. In some implementations the roamingnetwork 104 could be completely within the home network 102 orcompletely encompass home network 102. When a mobile device is locatedwithin one of the areas 106 that encompass both the home network 102 anda roaming network 104, the mobile device could receive service from eachof the home network 102 or the roaming network 104. There is even asituation in the area 108 where a mobile device could receive servicesfrom either the home network 102 or one of two roaming networks 104.

In normal circumstances, a mobile device located within its home network102 will receive services only from the home network 102. However,unique operating conditions within the home network 102 may cause thesignal strength to drop below a pre-selected level causing the mobiledevice to connect with one of the overlapping roaming networks 104rather than the home network 102. Thus, the mobile device is roaming ina situation when it is actually physically located within its homenetwork 102 but has or should have the ability to connect with the homenetwork 102. This creates undesirable roaming charges to either anetwork provider of the services to the mobile device or to the user ofthe mobile device.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a mobile device 202 whichmay wirelessly connect to a number of associated networks 204. Thenetworks 204 may comprise a home network or a roaming network asdescribed previously with respect to FIG. 1. The mobile device 202determines how to interconnect with one of the networks 204 and basedupon a priority roaming list 206 and internal control logic 208. When amobile device 202 is in a roaming mode of operation, the mobile deviceinitially utilizes the control logic 208 to scan for each of theavailable roaming networks 204. Once the mobile device knows each of theavailable roaming networks 204, the mobile device 202 accesses apriority roaming list 206 to determine which of the networks 204 themobile device should first attempt to access. The determination made bythe control logic 208 as to which network to access on the priorityroaming list 206 can be based on the priority order of the networks thatis established within the priority roaming list 206 and the networks 204having required signal strength characteristics to provide connectivitywith the mobile device 202. However, it may be that the initial scanjust did not recognize the home network 102 even though it was withinthe service area. This could be due to any number of factors.

Presently available network selection methods used by wireless devicesmay rely upon the creation of virtual geographic boundaries for thenetwork by grouping several network identifying parameters (referred toas GEOs in CDMA systems) and defining a geographic area based upon wherethese grouped parameters are received. For example, in a 3GPP2 (CDMA)network, these identifying parameters are the SID (system ID) and theNID (network ID). Within a 3GPP (GSM) network, the network identifiersmay consist of the MCC (mobile country code), the MNC (mobile networkcode) and the cell ID. Each of these network identifiers has aparticular geographic area that is associated therewith. Thus, if amobile device 202 is receiving a particular combination of parameters,the mobile device 202 can analyze these parameters and assume they arewithin a particular virtual geographic boundary. Thus, when a mobiledevice 202 acquires a network broadcasting a particular combination ofparameters, the mobile device 202 will create a database that combinesthese parameters into a group and assigns relative priorities to thenetworks within a given GEO. If a mobile device resides within more thanone GEO, a preference is given to network GEOs that the handset islocated within.

A problem with the above-described method is that the mobile device 202or the associated network provider does not know the exact geographiclocation of the mobile device within a given network. The mobile device202 only knows to assign relative priorities within a given GEO basedupon how the carrier provider has designed the preferred roaming listtable. In fact, some combinations of parameters can be reused withinother GEOs defined within the preferred roaming list to provide thehandset with a different group of priorities. Thus, the mobile devicewill by default acquire the next highest priority system within a givenGEO if the higher priority system is unavailable. For example, withinthe Dallas/Fort Worth area, if a customer loses their home networksignal perhaps due to a coverage hole or weak signal (even though it iswithin the service area), the mobile device will automatically rescanfor the next best network and attempt to register with that network. Ifthe next network within the priority list is a valid roaming partner ofthe home network, the registration will be successful and the mobiledevice will be allowed to connect. The problem with this method is thatroaming charges will be incurred with respect to the mobile device eventhough it is located within an area in which the mobile device has homenetwork coverage.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated an example wherein thehome network 302 of a mobile device and the roaming network 304 of aroaming network partner of the home network provider overlaps in an area306. In this situation, when a mobile device is located in the areaindicated generally at 308 no problem will occur as the mobile devicesolely resides within a coverage area provided by the home network 302,and the mobile device would register with the home network 302.Similarly, if the mobile device was at the location indicated generallyby 310, the mobile device would register with the roaming network 304,as it resided within an area solely provided coverage by the roamingnetwork 304.

The problem arises when the mobile device is in the location indicatedgenerally at 312. In this case, the mobile device is within the area 306that is provided overlapping coverage by the home network 302 and theroaming network 304. Conceivably, the mobile device could acquire eitherof the home network 302 or the roaming network 304. The service providerof the home network 302 would prefer for the mobile device to registerwithin the home network 302 when within the area 306 because this wouldprevent the home network provider or the user of the mobile device fromincurring roaming charges from the roaming network provider even thoughhome network coverage could be provided at location 312. In order toprovide this type of connection bias to the home network 302 when themobile device is located within the overlapping coverage area 306, abias to the home network can be provided by basing the determination ofwhich network to register with upon not only signal strength and thepriority roaming list, but also the geographic location of the mobiledevice. Thus, the mobile device would additionally utilize adetermination of its geographic location at position 312 along withknowledge of the boundaries of the coverage area provided by the homenetwork 302. Utilizing this information, the mobile device determineswhether its present location is within the geographic boundaries of thehome network 302 and selects a connecting network accordingly. Once suchis determined, repeated scans can be made in an attempt to connect withthe home network 102.

Referring now to FIG. 4a , there is provided a functional block diagramof a mobile device 402 including the functional elements necessary forregistering with a network utilizing the location-based processdescribed herein. Registration involves the mobile device 402 scanningfor available networks, selecting network for connection andtransmitting the necessary registration information to register themobile device 402 to operate within the selected network. The mobiledevice 402 includes a network interface 404 to enable the mobile device402 to wirelessly connect to the home network and any number of variousroaming networks. The network interface 404 provides the wirelessconnection hardware and software protocols for communicating with aparticular wireless network such as a GSM network, CDMA network, 3Gnetwork, 4G network, etc. The registration logic 406 provides thenecessary protocols for registering the mobile device 402 with thenetwork that is acquired. The registration logic 406 provides for theselection, provisioning and control of a network for connection to themobile device 402. The registration logic 406 enables the mobile device402 to register with a network by first scanning for available networksand then transmitting registration information to a network selected forconnection. The mobile device registers with the home network bytransmitting various identifiers and parameters from the mobile device402 to the home network enabling the home network to confirm that themobile device 402 is indeed a subscriber to the home network and allowaccess to the home network of the mobile device through the networkinterface 404 after the home network has been detected by an initialscan by the mobile device 402. Additionally, the registration logic 406enables the mobile device 402 to contact various roaming networks. Inthe roaming case, similar identification information and registrationparameters are transmitted from the mobile device 402 to the roamingnetwork after the mobile device 402 initial scan determines that thehome network is not available. The roaming network contacts the homenetwork to determine first that the home network has some type ofroaming agreement with the roaming network, and if so, confirms that theinformation provided from the mobile device 402 indicates that themobile device is a valid subscriber to the home network. This enablesthe mobile device to roam within the roaming network and receivewireless communication connectivity.

The mobile device 402 is able to determine its position utilizing storedboundary map information 408 and positioning logic 410. The boundarymaps 408 provide information relating to the geographic boundaries of ahome network 302. The boundary maps 408 do not provide detailedinformation on the area within the boundaries of the home network butmerely provides information relating to the geographic limits of thecoverage area of the home network 302. Thus, utilizing the boundary maps408 and the positioning logic 410, a mobile device 402 is able todetermine its geographic position and determine whether they residewithin the geographic boundaries established by the boundary maps 408.

The positioning logic 410 enables the mobile device 402 to determine itsgeographic position. With the positioning information, the mobile device402 determines where it resides with respect to the geographicboundaries of its home network 302. The geographic positioning providedby the positioning logic 410 can use any number of determining methods.In one embodiment, a global positioning system (GPS) may be used todetermine the geographic location of the mobile device 402. In additionto GPS, other types of network based geographic location methods such asAFLT, cell ID, etc. may be used to determine the geographic position ofthe mobile device. GPS positioning methods such as direct GPS andassisted GPS (A-GPS) will likely provide the best opportunity forpositioning the mobile device 402 as most modern mobile handsets areequipped with GPS receivers and have the ability to providelatitude/longitude information based upon GPS assisted protocols andcomputations using a GPS receiver as well as terrestrial locationmethods such as AFLT. Additionally, cell site geographic locationinformation is often included in the overhead messaging during systemacquisition. For this case, the positioning logic 410 determines ageographic location of the mobile device 402 based upon knowing thegeographic location of the particular cell site to which the mobiledevice is connected.

A rule set 412 is established for the mobile device 402 to control themanner in which the mobile device 402 connects with the home network 302and roaming networks 304. The rule set 412 comprises a profile definingthe selection, provisioning and control of the mobile device 402 withthe available network. The rule set 412 utilizes the location-basedinformation of the mobile device 402 obtained from the positioning logic410 and the boundary map information obtained from the boundary maps 408to determine the geographic position of the mobile device 402 withrespect to the home network and control which network that the mobiledevice 402 connects with. The rule set 412 will bias the connection ofthe mobile device 402 to a home network 302 rather than a roamingnetwork 304. Thus, if the positioning logic 410 and the boundary maps408 determine that the mobile device 402 is presently located within theboundaries of the home network 302, the rule set 412 will operate insuch a fashion that the mobile device 402 will be biased to connect withthe home network 302 rather than the roaming network 304. This may bedone in a number of fashions that will be described hereinbelow, such asattempting multiple scans of the network(s) in an attempt to recognizethe System ID (SID) of the home network 302 by initiating multiple scansto attempt to detect the home network 302 before passing on to selectingand registering with a roaming network 304, by attempting multiple scansto recognize the home network 302 for a particular period of time beforeselecting and registering with the roaming network 304 and any number ofmethods in which recognition of the home network 302 comprises thepreferred registration result. While a number of different methods forbiasing the registration to the home network 302 over the roamingnetwork 304 are described herein, it will of course be realized that anylocation-based network selection method enabling the registration of themobile device 402 with a home network 302 or roaming network 304 usinglocation of the mobile device 402, boundary maps of the home network 408and various rule sets 412 for establishing this connection may beutilized.

Since the network selection method described herein relies upondetermining a location of a mobile device 402 with respect to its homenetwork 302, the need for having accurate up-to-date information withrespect to the boundary maps 408 stored within the mobile device 402 isnecessary. The boundary maps 408 are initially stored within the mobiledevice 402 at the factory to represent the position of the networkboundaries at the time of manufacture of the mobile device 402.Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the mobile device 402 mayreceive periodic over-the-air boundary updates 502 from the home network302. In this case, the home network 302 can periodically transmitinformation to all mobile devices 402 associated with the home network302 that certain types of network boundary updates are available. Themobile device 402 determines if it requires the updates and downloadsthe updates as necessary utilizing over-the-air push technology methods.An alternative user initiated method enables a user to select an optionor dial a number to initiate a download of the latest roaming update orcould include the updates in roaming list updates that are done for thephone. By utilizing initial preloaded factory boundary maps 408 andperiodic over-the-air updates, the boundary maps 408 may be continuallyupdated to provide the mobile device 402 up to the date boundarycoverage information. Additionally, the boundary maps could be remotelylocated such that a remote location would have to be connected to inorder to determine the boundaries.

The rule set 412 may be maintained within the mobile device 402 in asimilar manner. The initial rule set 412 is stored within the mobiledevice 402 during factory production. The rule set 412 may beperiodically updated within the mobile device 402 from the home network302 utilizing push or pull technologies that keep the rule sets 412updated with the current state of the access rules for the home network302.

An additional method for periodically updating the boundary maps 408 andrule set 412 may utilize removable media such as a UICC card, SIM card,Flash memory card, etc. In this way, rather than doing an over-the-airupdate to the mobile device 402, the boundary maps 408 and rule sets 412are periodically updated by inserting a new or updated UICC card, SIMcard, Flash memory card, etc. into the mobile device 402. Additionally,the over-the-air update of the mobile device 402 could be done via Wi-Ficonnectivity, internet connection or some other type of non-cellularnetwork rather than a cellular network.

Referring now to FIG. 4b , there is provided a functional block diagramof a network server 422 including the functional elements necessary forbiasing the registration of a contacting mobile device based upon alocation-based process. The network server 422 includes a networkinterface 424 to enable the network server to communicate with thewireless network and the mobile device that is wirelessly connected tothe wireless network. The network interface 424 provides the softwareprotocols for communicating over a particular wireless network such as aGSN network, CDMA network, 3G network, 4G network, etc., and fortransmitting messages to an associated mobile device. The registrationlogic 426 provides the necessary protocols for enabling the mobiledevice to register with the network server 422 and responds toregistration messages received from the mobile device. The networkserver 422 is able to determine the position of the mobile deviceutilizing stored boundary map information 428 and positioning logic 430.The boundary map 428 provides information relating to the geographicboundaries of the home network 302. The boundary maps 428 do not providedetailed information on the area within the boundaries of the homenetwork, but merely provides information relating to the geographiclimits of the coverage area of the home network 302. Thus, utilizing theboundary maps 428 and the positioning logic 430, the network server 422is able to determine a geographic position of the mobile device anddetermines whether the mobile device resides within the geographicboundaries established by the boundary maps 428.

The positioning logic 430 enables the network server 422 to determine ageographic position of the mobile device based upon information receivedfrom the mobile device such as cell ID, sector ID, GPS information, etc.With the positioning information, the network server 422 determineswhere the mobile device resides with respect to the geographicboundaries of the home network 302.

The rule set 432 is established for the network server 422 to controlthe manner in which a mobile device connects with a home network 302 androaming networks 304. The rule set 432 comprises a profile defining theselection, provisioning and control of the mobile device with theavailable network. The rule set 432 utilizes the location-basedinformation obtained from the positioning logic 430 and the boundary mapinformation obtained from the boundary maps 428 to determine thegeographic position of the mobile device with respect to the homenetwork and control which network that the mobile device connects with.The rule set 432 biases the connection of the mobile device to a homenetwork 302 rather than a roaming network 304. Thus, if the positioninglogic 430 and the boundary maps 428 determine that the mobile device ispresently located within the boundaries of the home network 302, therule set 432 will operate in such a fashion that the mobile device willbe biased to connect with the home network 302 rather than the roamingnetwork 304. This may be done in any number of fashions as describedherein.

Referring now to FIG. 4c there is provided a functional block diagram ofa third party network server 422 including the functional elementsnecessary for biasing the registration of a contacting mobile devicebased upon a location-based process. The network server 422 includes anetwork interface 424 to enable the network server to communicate withthe wireless network and the mobile device that is wirelessly connectedto the wireless network. The network interface 424 provides the softwareprotocols for communicating over a particular wireless network such as aGSN network, CDMA network, 3G network, 4G network, etc., and fortransmitting messages to an associated mobile device. The registrationlogic 426 provides the necessary protocols for enabling the mobiledevice to register with the network server 422 and responds toregistration messages received from the mobile device.

The network server 422 is able to determine the position of the mobiledevice utilizing stored boundary map information 428 and positioninglogic 430. The boundary map 428 provides information relating to thegeographic boundaries of the home network 302. The boundary maps 428 donot provide detailed information on the area within the boundaries ofthe home network, but merely provides information relating to thegeographic limits of the coverage area of the home network 302. Thus,utilizing the boundary maps 428 and the positioning logic 430, thenetwork server 422 is able to determine a geographic position of themobile device and determines whether the mobile device resides withinthe geographic boundaries established by the boundary maps 428.

The positioning logic 430 enables the network server 422 to determine ageographic position of the mobile device based upon information receivedfrom the mobile device such as cell ID, sector ID, GPS information, etc.With the positioning information, the network server 422 determineswhere the mobile device resides with respect to the geographicboundaries of the home network 302.

The rule set 432 is established for the network server 422 to controlthe manner in which a mobile device connects with a home network 302 androaming networks 304. The rule set 432 comprises a profile defining theselection, provisioning and control of the mobile device with theavailable network. The rule set 432 utilizes the location-basedinformation obtained from the positioning logic 430 and the boundary mapinformation obtained from the boundary maps 428 to determine thegeographic position of the mobile device with respect to the homenetwork and control which network that the mobile device connects with.The rule set 432 biases the connection of the mobile device to a homenetwork 302 rather than a roaming network 304. Thus, if the positioninglogic 430 and the boundary maps 428 determine that the mobile device ispresently located within the boundaries of the home network 302, therule set 432 will operate in such a fashion that the mobile device willbe biased to connect with the home network 302 rather than the roamingnetwork 304. This may be done in any number of fashions as describedherein.

Referring now to FIG. 6a , there is illustrated a user device initiatemodel for updating the boundary information within the mobile device402, the associated provider network server, or a third party serveraccording to periodic over-the-air or transmitted updates. The mobiledevice, network server or third party server connects at step 602 withthe home network 302 and includes a present version of the boundaryinformation that is either factory installed or previously updated. Thepresent boundary map version stored within the mobile device, networkserver or third party server is checked at step 604. This presentboundary map version is compared at step 606 with an available boundarymap version that is available at step 606. Inquiry step 608 determinesif the boundary map version presently stored on the mobile device 402,network server or third party server is the same as the boundary mapversion that is available from the network. If the versions match, themobile device 402, network server or third party server continues to usethe presently stored boundary map version at step 610. However, ifinquiry step 608 determines that an updated boundary map version and theversion stored on the mobile device 402, network server or third partyserver do not match, the updated boundary map is downloaded at step 612.The mobile device 402, network server or third party server utilizes theupdated boundary map for location-based decisions at step 614.

Referring now to FIG. 6b , there is illustrated a network deviceinitiated model for updating the boundary information within the mobiledevice 402, network server or third party server according to periodicover-the-air updates. The mobile device, network server or third partyserver connects at step 632 with the home network 302 and provides tothe network a present version of the boundary information that is eitherfactory installed or previously updated in the component. The presentboundary map version received by the network that is stored within themobile device, network server or third party server is checked at step634. This present boundary map version is compared at step 636 with anavailable network boundary map version that is available at the network.Inquiry step 638 determines if the boundary map version presently storedon the mobile device 402, network server or third party server is thesame as the boundary map version that is available from the network. Ifthe versions match, the network instructs the mobile device 402, networkserver or third party server to continue using the presently storedboundary map version at step 640. However, if inquiry step 638determines that an updated boundary map version and the version storedon the mobile device 402, network server or third party server do notmatch, the updated boundary map is downloaded at step 642 to the mobiledevice 402, network server or third party server. The mobile device 402,network server or third party server utilizes the updated boundary mapfor location-based decisions at step 644.

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is provided a general flow diagramdescribing the manner in which a mobile device 402, network server orthird party server may select a network for connection to the mobiledevice 402 to provide wireless communications therewith based upon thegeographic location of the mobile device 402. The process is initiatedat step 700 wherein the mobile device 402 is activated and initiates thenetwork registration process. The mobile device 402 attempts an initialconnection with the home network 302, i.e., it scans the network(s) todetermine if the home network is present at inquiry step 702. If thehome network 302 is available, it will connect with the home network atstep 703. If the home network is not initially available, the mobiledevice 402, network server or third party server will access the homenetwork boundary map information that is stored within the mobile device402. Next, the mobile device 402, network server or third party serverwill determine its geographic position utilizing, for example, GPSpositioning or some other type of geographic positioning technique atstep 706 to determine the geographic location of the mobile device 402.The mobile device 402, network server or third party server determinesat inquiry step 708 whether the mobile device 402 is located within itshome network 302 based upon the known geographic boundaries of the homenetwork from the boundary maps 408 and the positioning informationobtained from the positioning logic 410 in addition to knowing the SIDof the home network. If the mobile device 402 does not presently residewithin its home network boundaries, the mobile device 402 will beallowed to roam and connect with a roaming network provider at step 710according to a stored PRL. However, if it is determined that the mobiledevice 402 presently resides within a home network at inquiry step 708,the mobile device 402, network server or third party server will applythe stored network connection rule set 412 at step 712 to establish anetwork connection. Rule Set 412 can be comprised of any logic andinformation available. The rule set used may be based on location,speed, call history, location history, call patterns, time of day,proximity to home boundary, etc. Examples of information are not limitedto location, speed, call history, call patterns, time of day, proximityto home boundary, listings of acceptable and unacceptable cell sites,etc. As described previously, these rules will bias the connection ofthe mobile device to the home network to ensure the maximum likelihoodthat the mobile device 402 will connect to the home network 302 andprevent the incursion of roaming charges associated with connecting to aroaming network 304.

The rule sets 412 that are implemented for the mobile device 402 maybias the connection of the mobile device 402 to the home network 302 inany number of fashions. Referring now to FIG. 8, there is illustratedone such implementation of the rule set 412. In the embodiment of FIG.8, the mobile device 402 is required to attempt a certain number ofconnection attempts with the home network if it is within the homenetwork service area before allowing the mobile device 402 to proceedwith connecting to a roaming network 304. The process is initiated atstep 802 wherein the mobile device 402 attempts an initial connectionwith the home network 302, i.e., it scans the network(s) to determine ifthe home network is present. Inquiry step 804 determines if a successfulconnection has been established with the home network. If a connectionis established, control passes to step 806 and local service is providedto the mobile device 402 via the home network 302.

If inquiry step 804 determines that a successful connection has not beenestablished with the home network, inquiry step 808 determines if amaximum number of connection attempts to the home network have beenattempted. If not, control passes to inquiry step 810 to determinewhether the mobile device 402 is presently located within the homenetwork 302. If not within the home network 302, control passes to step812 wherein the mobile device 402 accesses the preferred roaming list toestablish a roaming connection with a roaming network. However, if themobile device 402 is within the home network 302 as determined atinquiry step 810, control passes back to step 802 and another attempt ismade to connect with the home network 302.

As long as the mobile device 402 remains within the home network 302,the mobile device 402 will continue attempting to connect with the homenetwork 302 until a maximum number of connection attempts is achieved asdetermined at inquiry step 808. Once the maximum number of connectionattempts has been attempted, control passes from inquiry step 808 tostep 812 wherein the mobile device accesses the priority roaming list.This will enable the mobile device 402 to establish a roaming connectionat step 814. In this manner, the mobile device network registration isbiased to the home network 302 since a predetermined number of attemptsare made to connect with the home network 302 before the mobile device402 is allowed to establish a roaming connection with a roaming network304.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated an alternative embodimentof the rule set 412 wherein rather than utilizing a maximum number ofconnection attempts to determine when to switch from home networkconnection attempts to roaming connection attempts, a predeterminedduration of time is established for trying to connect to a home network.An initial attempt to connect with the home network 302 is made at step902. Inquiry step 904 determines if the initial connection with the homenetwork was successful. If so, control passes to step 906 and localservice is provided via the home network connection at step 906. Ifinquiry step 904 determines that a successful home network connectionhas not been established, the determination of a particular durationperiod is started at step 908. This determination can be made using aninternal timer of the mobile device 402 or the mobile device 402 cantrack timing information received over the over-the-air interface from acommunicating cell site.

Inquiry step 910 determines if the monitored time period duration hasexpired. If the time period has not expired, control passes to inquirystep 912 wherein a determination is made if the mobile device 402resides within the home network 302. If not within the home network,control passes to step 914, and the mobile device 402 accesses thepreferred roaming list prior to establishing a roaming connection atstep 916. If inquiry step 912 determines that the mobile device 402resides within the home network 302, a further connection attempt withthe home network is attempted at step 918. Control passes back toinquiry step 910 to determine if the time period duration beingmonitored by the mobile device 402 has expired. The mobile device 402will continue to attempt to connect to the home network until inquirystep 910 determines that the monitored time period has expired. Once themonitored time period expires, control passes to step 914 wherein thepreferred roaming list is accessed. The mobile device 402 establishes aroaming connection at step 916 with a roaming network 304. In thismanner, the connection of the mobile device 402 is biased for connectionto the home network 302 rather than the roaming network 304 by requiringthe mobile device 402 to attempt to connect to the home network 302 fora predetermined period of time prior to enabling connections with aroaming network 304.

Referring now to FIG. 10a , there is illustrated an alternativeimplementation of the rule set 412 and positioning logic 410 whereinrather than using a GPS or similar type of positioning logic 410 withinthe mobile device 402, network provider server or third party server todetermine position, the mobile device 402, network provider server orthird party server determines the geographic position with respect tothe home network boundaries based upon the location of the cell sitewith which the mobile device is communicating. Thus, an initial networkacquisition is attempted at step 1002 and inquiry step 1004 determineswhether the mobile device 402 is connected with a roaming network 304.If not, the mobile device connects with the home network at step 1006.If the mobile device 402 is attempting to connect with a roaming network304, a determination is made at step 1008 as to the geographic locationof the cell site with which the mobile device 402 is communicating.Inquiry step 1010 determines whether the cell site is within thegeographic boundaries of the home network 302. If the cell site is notwithin the geographic boundary, the mobile device 402 continuesconnection with the roaming network at step 1012 and continues theroaming process.

If inquiry step 1010 determines that the cell site does reside withinthe boundaries of the home network 302, inquiry step 1014 determines ifthe mobile device 402 should continue attempting to connect to the homenetwork. This may be based upon a select number of attempted networkconnections or a time period for connecting to the home network 302. Ifinquiry step 1014 determines that the mobile device 402 should notcontinue attempting to connect with the home network, control passes tostep 1012, and the mobile device 402 continues with the roaming network.If inquiry step 1014 determines that home network connections should befurther attempted, the mobile device 402 disconnects from the roamingnetwork at step 1016 and attempts to acquire a network via registrationat step 1002. The process then repeats. The procedure will continueuntil a home network connection is established at step 1006 or themobile device 402 determines that it is OK to continue with the roamingnetwork at step 1012.

When a mobile device 402 is operating within a roaming network, themobile device, network provider server or third party server willperiodically check to determine whether the mobile device has enteredinto its home network. As illustrated in FIG. 10b , the mobile deviceposition is determined at step 1050. The home network boundaryinformation is accessed at step 1052. Utilizing the mobile deviceposition information and the home boundary network information, inquirystep 1054 determines whether the mobile device is presently within thehome network. If not within the home network, control passes to step1056, and the process waits for a predetermined period of time beforeagain determining the position of the mobile station at step 1050. Ifinquiry step 1054 determines that the mobile device is within its homenetwork, the mobile device disconnects at step 1058 from the roamingnetwork and attempts to connect to the home network at step 1060. Theattempted reconnection with the home network while in a roaming networkcould occur in any of the above-described situations when the mobiledevice 302 connects with the roaming network such as that referenced inFIGS. 7-10 a

In addition to utilizing a position based selection of a roaming versusa home network for a mobile device 402, the location-based selection ofa network can be used to select the type of data network to which themobile device 402 will connect based upon the profile established withthe rule set 412. For example, if the mobile device 402, networkprovider server or third party server determines that a Wi-Fi network,an LTE network and a CDMA network are each available to the handset, themobile device, network provider server or third party server may includea rule set which enables the selection of the type of network forproviding the connection based upon the location of the mobile device402 with respect to these networks. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 11, themobile device 402, network provider server or third party server mayinitially determine at step 1102 the network needs of the mobile device402 to execute a particular application at step 1102. The position ofthe mobile device 402 is determined at step 1104 utilizing thepositioning logic 410 and boundary maps 408 as described previously.Next, the boundaries of the available network types are determined atstep 1106. Thus, in the current example, the available boundaries forthe Wi-Fi, LTE and CDMA networks are determined at step 1106 based uponinformation stored within the boundary maps 408. As discussedpreviously, the boundary maps for the various network types would haveto be pre-stored upon the mobile device 402 or within the networkprovider server or third party server and periodically updated via sometype of update mechanism.

Finally, a rule set 412 is used to select the particular network typefor connection to the mobile device 402 based upon the needs of theapplications to be executed by the mobile device 402 and its geographicposition with respect to the available network boundaries and thepriority is established by the rule set for the available networks atstep 1108. Thus, if it was desired for the mobile device 402 toestablish connections with LTE networks over Wi-Fi and CDMA networks fora particular application, and a determination is made that the mobiledevice 402 is actually positioned within an LTE network, the connectionto the LTE network can be biased to occur within the mobile device 402in a manner similar to that described previously with respect to homeover roaming networks. This would enable data transmissions within themobile device 402 to be biased to occur over the most desirable networkconnections with the mobile device 402.

In addition to biasing the mobile device 402 to connect to the homenetwork 302 rather than a roaming network 304, the location-basednetwork selection method can also be used to bias the selection of theparticular home network or roaming network when multiple home or roamingnetworks are available to the mobile device 402. Thus, as more fullyillustrated in FIG. 12a for a roaming network, once the networkacquisition process is initiated at step 1202, inquiry step 1204determines whether the home network 302 is available. If so, the mobiledevice 402 connects to the home network 302 at step 1206. If inquirystep 1204 determines that the home network is not available, the roaminglist of available roaming networks is accessed at step 1208 along withlocation information for the mobile device 402 with respect to each ofthe available roaming networks 304 and geographic boundary informationfor each available roaming network 304. The mobile device 402 accessesthe highest selected priority roaming network within which it ispresently located and determines at inquiry step 1210 whether the mobiledevice 402 can connect with the highest priority roaming network basedupon location. If so, the mobile device 402 connects with the availableroaming network at step 1214. If the initial roaming network is notavailable, control passes to the next available roaming network atinquiry step 1212 to determine if the next highest priority networkbased upon location is available. If the network is available, themobile device 402 connects with the available roaming network at step1214. If the network is not available, the mobile device 402 will moveon to the next roaming network in an attempt to select the highestpriority roaming network with which a connection may be established. Inthis manner, the position of the mobile device 402 may be used to selecta most advantageous roaming network for the roaming device.

FIG. 12b illustrates a method for selecting a preferred home networkwhen multiple home networks are available. Once the network acquisitionprocess is initiated at step 1232, inquiry step 1234 determines whethermultiple home networks 302 are available. If not, the mobile device 402connects to a single home network 302 or a roaming network at step 1236.If inquiry step 1234 determines that multiple home networks areavailable, the list of available home networks is accessed at step 1238along with location information for the mobile device 402 with respectto each of the available home networks 302 and geographic boundaryinformation for each available home network 302. The mobile device 402accesses the highest selected priority home network 302 within which itis presently located and determines at inquiry step 1240 whether themobile device 402 can connect with the highest priority home networkbased upon location. If so, the mobile device 402 connects with theavailable home network 302 at step 1244. If the initial home network 302is not available, control passes to the next available home network atinquiry step 1242 to determine if the next highest priority networkbased upon location is available. If the network is available, themobile device 402 connects with the available home network at step 1244.If the network is not available, the mobile device 402 will move on tothe next home network in an attempt to select the highest priority homenetwork with which a connection may be established. In this manner, theposition of the mobile device 402 may be used to select a mostadvantageous home network 302 for the mobile device 402.

Referring now to FIG. 13, there is illustrated an alternative embodimentof the present disclosure wherein a location of a mobile device 402 isused to disconnect a roaming call when the home network 302 of themobile device 402 becomes available. The mobile device 402 operateswithin an area including its home network 1302 and a roaming network1304. The mobile device 402 is currently moving from a positionindicated generally at 1306 residing solely within the roaming network1304 to a position 1308 residing within an overlapping region of theroaming network 1304 and the home network 1302. In conventionaloperation, the mobile device 402 would remain connected to the roamingnetwork 1304 as it passes from point 1306 to point 1308 along line 1310as it remains completely within the roaming network 1304 along theentire movement from point 1306 to point 1308. However, at point 1312the mobile device passes across the boundary of the home network 1302and moves into an overlapping area of the home network 1302 and roamingnetwork 1304. In order to minimize the roaming costs associated withmobile device 402, once the location of the mobile device 402 isdetermined to have moved into an area encompassed by the home networkgeographic boundaries, the mobile device 402 can be disconnected fromthe roaming network 1304 to minimize these roaming charges.Alternatively, the mobile device 402 could be handed off from theroaming network 1304 to the home network 1302 to minimize the roamingcharges.

Referring now also to FIG. 14, there is illustrated a flow diagramdescribing the operation for disconnecting a mobile device 402 from aroaming network 1304 when it passes into the geographic boundaries ofthe home network 1302. When a roaming call occurs at step 1402, themobile device 402, network provider server or third party serverperiodically determines the location of the mobile device 402 at step1404. Inquiry step 1406 determines whether the mobile device 402 islocated within the boundaries of the home network. If not within theboundaries, control passes to step 1408 and the mobile device waits fora predetermined period of time before again determining the devicelocation at step 1404. If inquiry step 1406 determines that the mobiledevice is now within the geographic boundaries of the home network, themobile device 402 is disconnected from the roaming network at step 1410.The disconnection may take the form of merely dropping the callpresently being provided via the roaming network, or alternatively, maybe implemented via a handoff from the roaming network to the homenetwork.

Referring now to FIG. 15a , there is more specifically illustrated aflow diagram describing a process wherein rather than positioning themobile device 402 and determining whether the mobile device is withinthe home network boundaries within the mobile device 402, thepositioning decisions and home network decisions are made at the networkside. Thus, for example, when a handset registers with either a homenetwork or via a roaming network while on the roaming partner's network,information is transmitted back to the home network provider to make thepositioning and registration determinations. The control logic forselecting, positioning and controlling can be embedded within any oneparticular network component or can be distributed throughout thearchitecture of any one or all of (1) the mobile device, (2) therequesting network, (3) the home network or (4) an attached server.

When a registration is initiated at step 1502, the cell ID that themobile device 402 is presently connected with, the sector ID that themobile device 402 is presently connected with and location informationrelated to the mobile device 402 is transmitted from the mobile deviceback to the network serving the mobile device at step 1504. The actualposition of the mobile device 402 may also be determined based uponextra messaging initiated by the network in order to locate the mobiledevice's 402 position via GPS and/or terrestrial methods at step 1506.The network determines the device position with respect to the homenetwork boundaries at step 1508. The boundary maps would be stored onthe network side rather than at the mobile device 402 as discussedpreviously. Inquiry step 1510 determines whether the mobile device 402can connect with its home network 302. If the mobile device 402 mayconnect with its home network 302, it does so at step 1512. If inquirystep 1510 determines that the mobile device 402 is not presently able toconnect with the home network, control passes to inquiry step 1514 whichaccesses the associated rule sets on the network side to determine ifthe mobile device 402 may be enabled to attempt a roaming connection. Ifthe mobile device 402 is not presently allowed to attempt a roamingconnection, control passes back to inquiry step 1501 to again attempt ahome network connection. Repeated home network connection attempts arecarried out until the rule set enables the mobile device 402 to connectwith a roaming network 304 at step 1516. The rule set accesses atinquiry step 1514 bias the mobile device 402 to connect with the homenetwork 302 for a predetermined number of times or for a predeterminedduration of time as described previously hereinabove using theabove-described method, the decisions made as to whether the mobiledevice 402 resides within the home network 302 and the decisions madebased upon the rule sets biasing the connection of the mobile device 402to the home network 302 are all made upon the network side of the systemrather than at the mobile device 402 as described in previous examples.These rule sets may reside wholly or particularly within any combinationof (1) the mobile device, (2) a requesting network, (3) a home networkor (4) an attached server.

Referring now to FIG. 15b , there is illustrated a flow diagramdescribing the process wherein rather positioning the mobile device 402and determining whether the mobile device is within the home networkboundaries within the mobile device 402 or on the network-side, thepositioning decisions and home network decisions are made at a thirdparty remote server. When a registration is initiated at step 1528, thecell ID with which the mobile device 402 is presently connected, thesector ID with which the mobile device is presently connected andlocation information relating to the mobile device is transmitted fromthe mobile device back to the third party server at step 1530. Theactual position of the mobile device 402 may be determined based uponthe information provided to the third party server at step 1532 usingGPS or terrestrial methods. The third party server determines the deviceposition with respect to the home network boundaries at step 1534. Theboundary maps would be stored at the third party server rather than atthe mobile device as discussed previously. Inquiry step 1534 determineswhether the mobile device can connect with the home network. If themobile device 402 may connect with its home network 302, it does so atstep 1536. If inquiry step 1534 determines that the mobile device 402 isnot presently able to connect with the home network 302, control passesto inquiry step 1540, which accesses the associated rule set at thethird party server to determine if the mobile device 402 may attempt aroaming connection. If the mobile device 402 is not presently allowed toattempt a roaming connection, control passes back to inquiry step 1534to again attempt a home network connection. Repeated home networkconnection attempts are carried out until the rule set enables themobile device 402 to enable connection with a roaming network 304 atstep 1542.

Referring now to FIG. 16, there is illustrated a home network 1602 andfirst and second overlapping roaming networks 1604 and 1606. The homenetwork 1606 additionally includes a number of coverage holes 1608included throughout the home network 1602. Each of these coverage holes1608 comprise areas wherein for one reason or another, home networkcoverage for mobile devices is either permanently or periodicallyunavailable to a mobile device within the home network 1602. When withinthe coverage holes 1608, the mobile device has the option of connectingwith one of the roaming networks 1604 and 1606. Alternatively, in thecase of a coverage hole 1608 that is only periodically present or onlypresent for short periods of time with respect to a moving mobiledevice, particular rule sets can be implemented for particular coverageholes 1608 in order to provide a most likely opportunity for connectingwith the home network 1602 or a most advantageous roaming network. Thisis achieved by associating particular unique rule sets with eachindividual coverage hole 1608.

These rule sets and coverage hole locations may be either stored withinthe mobile device as illustrated in FIG. 17a , within the home locationregister of the mobile device as illustrated in FIG. 17b or anotherthird party network based server as illustrated in FIG. 17c . For themobile device located rule set, the mobile device 1702 includes thestorage location 1704 in which each of the various coverage holes arestored. Indexed with each of the coverage holes are a particular ruleset that is unique to and associated with the particular coverage hole.This will allow the mobile device 1702 to interact when it is within aparticular coverage hole in a manner that is defined by the associatedrule set. In the alternative configurations, the HLR 1706 or remoteserver 1712 stores the coverage hole information and indexed rule setsthat are associated with a particular coverage hole within a storagearea 1708 within the HLR or area 1712 within the third party server1710.

Referring now to FIG. 18, there is illustrated a flow diagram describingthe operation of a mobile device operating according to various rulesets associated with particular network coverage holes. Once a mobiledevice is activated at step 1802, the position of the mobile device isdetermined at step 1804. The determination of the position of the mobiledevice may be made in any number of fashions. As described earlier, themobile device position may be based upon GPS capabilities within themobile device or within the associated network. Additionally, use may bemade of the cell ID associated with the mobile device. The cell ID canbe used to identify particular coverage hole areas that have beenlocated within a particular network. Thus, if the mobile device isreceiving the cell ID associated with a coverage area hole, the deviceis assumed to be located within this coverage area hole.

Inquiry step 1806 determines, based upon either the GPS positioninginformation of the mobile device or the cell identification informationreceived by the mobile device, whether the mobile device is currentlywithin a network hole. If the device is not determined to be within anetwork hole, a network connection is established at step 1808 inaccordance with normal network connection rules and may utilize thelocation-based network connection processes described hereinabove. Ifinquiry step 1806 determines that the mobile device is currently locatedwithin the network hole, the particular rule set associated with thatnetwork hole is accessed at step 1810. As described previously withrespect to FIGS. 17a, 17b and 17c , this rule set may be located withinthe mobile device or alternatively, can be associated with the networkside of the system in for example, the home location network or within athird party server. After accessing the particular rule set, a networkconnection is established at step 1812 based upon the accessed rule setfor the mobile device.

Inquiry step 1814 determines whether there has been a position changefor the mobile device. If so, control passes back to inquiry step 1806and a further determination is made if the mobile device resides withina network hole. If inquiry step 1814 determines that there is noposition change by the mobile station, the network connection based uponthe established rule set is maintained at step 1816.

Referring now to FIG. 19, there is illustrated the manner in which therule set 412 by which the selection, provisioning and control of themanner in which a mobile device is connected with an associated home orroaming network, connected with one of multiple types of wirelessnetworks or the mobile device's connection control with respect to holeswithin a network may be implemented. The rule set 412 may be storedeither singly within a mobile device 1902, a particular component of thehome network 1904, a particular component of a visiting network 1906 orsome other remote server 1908 associated with the wirelesscommunications network. Rather than implementing the rule set 412individually within any of the described components, various parts ofthe rule set may be distributed across each of or any combination of themobile device 1902, home network 1904, visitor network 1906 and remoteserver 1908. Alternatively, the rule set 412 could also be distributedacross any one of the home network 1904 and the visiting network 1906such that the rule set was stored at different locations within eitherof the home network 1904 and visiting network 1906. This provides agreat deal of flexibility in implementing the rule set 412 as the ruleset in any functionalities for implementing the rule set may bedistributed across all of the components of the wireless communicationsystem providing a number of fashions for implementing the manner forconnecting the wireless device with a selected wireless network.

The rule set 412 includes rules and information controlling the mannerin which the mobile device may connect with an associated home orroaming network or with a type of wireless network. As describedhereinabove, the rule set may establish rules based upon the location ofthe mobile device with respect to the geographic boundaries of a home,roaming or type of wireless network. Alternatively, the rule set mayestablish the basis for connection based upon listings of acceptable orunacceptable cell sites that are included with the rule set. Theseacceptable or unacceptable cell sites may be based upon the geographiclocation of these cell sites with respect to particular networks withwhich the mobile device is attempting to connect or alternatively couldbe based upon the type of wireless network connection provided by thecell site.

The rule set 412 may additionally comprise an adaptive rule set thatlearns and improves based upon previous responses or actions whenattempting to connect with a home or roaming network. Thus, if problemsor issues arise in establishing a connection from mobile devices totheir associated home or roaming network, the rule set may be improvedto tweak or change the connection rules in order to better adapt theregistration process to desired connection goals.

Thus, using the above-described system and method a home networkprovider is able to optimize network selection of their handsets basedupon the geographical location of their handset with respect to theirhome network. This provides better control over the specific networkthat the handset acquires within a given geographic area even ifmultiple networks are overlapping a location from which the mobiledevice is presently attempting a network access. The mobile device isbiased to connect to a particular network that most generally benefitsthe home network service provider or the user of the mobile devicedepending upon the charging scheme implemented with respect to themobile device. This will prevent situations wherein a mobile device isaccessing a roaming network in an area served by the mobile device'shome network due to regions within the home coverage that haveinadequate signal strength or other type of signal limiting situations.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure that this location-based network selection method for amobile device provides an improved network connection method to limitroaming charges. It should be understood that the drawings and detaileddescription herein are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than arestrictive manner, and are not intended to be limiting to theparticular forms and examples disclosed. On the contrary, included areany further modifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions,alternatives, design choices, and embodiments apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scopehereof, as defined by the following claims. Thus, it is intended thatthe following claims be interpreted to embrace all such furthermodifications, changes, rearrangements, substitutions, alternatives,design choices, and embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for connecting a mobile device with oneof a plurality of wireless networks, comprising the steps of: initiatinga network selection process of the mobile device with a first network ofthe plurality of wireless networks when the mobile device is locatedwithin an overlapping area of the first network and a second network ofthe plurality of networks; determining, at a third party remote servernot associated with a network service provider, a geographic position ofthe mobile device with respect to at least one of the plurality ofwireless networks; selecting, at the third party remote server, one thefirst network and the second network of the plurality of wirelessnetworks responsive to the determined geographic position of the mobiledevice and an associated rule set stored at the third party remoteserver; and connecting to the selected one of the first network and thesecond network of the plurality of wireless networks.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the step of determining the geographic position furthercomprises the step of: accessing, at the third party remote server, aboundary map defining a geographic boundary of the at least one of theplurality of wireless networks; determining, at the third party remoteserver, a geographic position of the mobile device; and determining, atthe third party remote server, if the geographic position of the mobiledevice lies within the geographic boundary of the at least one of theplurality of wireless networks.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thestep of determining the geographic position further comprises the stepof GPS positioning the mobile device.
 4. The method of claim 2, whereinthe step of determining the geographic position further comprises thesteps of: identifying, at the third party remote server, the geographicposition of a cell communicating with the mobile device; andestablishing, at the third party remote server, the geographic locationof the mobile device as the geographic position of the cellcommunicating with the mobile device.
 5. The method of claim 2, furtherincluding the step of periodically updating, at the third party remoteserver, the boundary map defining the geographic boundary of the atleast one of the plurality of wireless networks.
 6. The method of claim5, wherein the step of periodically updating further comprises the stepof transmitting an updated boundary map to the third party remoteserver.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of connecting furthercomprises the steps of: attempting to connect with the first network ofthe plurality of wireless networks in accordance with a rule set thatbiases the connection of the wireless device to the first network; andconnecting with the second network of the plurality of wireless networksif connection with the first network fails.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the step of attempting further includes the step of attemptingto connect with the first network of the plurality of wireless networksa predetermined number of times before trying to connect with anothernetwork of the plurality of networks.
 9. The method of claim 7, whereinthe step of attempting further includes the step of attempting toconnect with the first network of the plurality of wireless network fora predetermined duration of time before trying to connect with anothernetwork of the plurality of networks.
 10. The method of claim 1 furtherincluding the steps of: determining, at the third party remote server, asubsequent geographic position of the mobile device connected to thesecond network of the plurality of wireless networks with respect to theat least one of the plurality of wireless networks; and disconnectingthe mobile device from the second network when the determination is madethat the geographic location of the wireless device is within the atleast one of the plurality of wireless networks.
 11. A method forconnecting a mobile device with a home network or at least one roamingnetwork, comprising the steps of: initiating a registration of themobile device with either the home network or the at least one roamingnetwork; accessing, at a third party remote server not associated with anetwork service provider, a boundary map defining a geographic boundaryof the home network; determining, at the third party remote server, ageographic position of the mobile device; determining, at the thirdparty remote server, if the geographic position of the mobile devicelies within the geographic boundary of the home network; attempting toconnect with home network in accordance with a rule set located at thethird party remote server that biases the connection of the wirelessdevice to the home network responsive to the determine geographicposition of the mobile device with respect to the home network; andconnecting with at least one roaming network if connection with the homenetwork fails.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step ofdetermining the geographic position further comprises the step of GPSpositioning the mobile device.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein thestep of determining the geographic position further comprises the stepsof: identifying, at the third party remote server, the geographicposition of a cell communicating with the mobile device; andestablishing, at the third party remote server, the geographic locationof the mobile device as the geographic position of the cellcommunicating with the mobile device.
 14. The method of claim 11,further including the step of periodically updating the boundary mapdefining the geographic boundary of the home network, at the third partyremote server.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the step ofattempting further includes the step of providing customized applicationbehavior for the mobile device responsive to the determined geographicposition of the mobile device with respect to the home network and atype of an application attempting to access the home network.
 16. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the step of attempting further includes thestep of attempting to connect with the home network for a predeterminedduration of time before trying to connect with the at least one roamingnetwork.
 17. A system for connecting a mobile device with one of aplurality of wireless networks, comprising: at least one boundary mapstored within a third party remote server not associated with a networkservices provider defining a geographic boundary of a selected network;geographic positioning circuitry located at the third party remoteserver for determining a geographic position of the mobile device; atleast one rule set associated with the mobile device and stored at thethird party remote server for controlling connection of the mobiledevice with the one of the plurality of wireless networks; wherein theat least one rule set biases connection of the mobile device with onenetwork of the plurality of wireless networks responsive to thedetermine geographic position of the mobile device with respect to theat least one boundary map of the selected network; and further whereinthe at least one rule set configures the mobile device to connect withthe a second network if connection with the one network fails accordingto the at least one rule set.
 18. The mobile device of claim 17, whereinthe at least one rule set configures the mobile device to attempt toconnect with the one network of the plurality of wireless networks apredetermined number of times before trying to connect with the secondnetwork or attempt to connect with the one network for a predeterminedperiod of time before trying to connect with the second network.